My Ten-Year Crush by Olivia Spring
Epilogue
March 2018
Mum and I lay back on our sun loungers, watching the waves crash against the white sand. This was paradise.
As we glanced along the beach, we saw three familiar figures walking towards us.
‘Look at them.’ Mum grinned. ‘Hard to believe those two used to hate each other.’
I clocked the big smiles spread across both Dad’s and Mike’s faces. ‘Yeah. What a difference eight years can make.’
I thought back to when I’d first told Dad I wanted to leave the school and London to join Mike in Vietnam.
We hadn’t spoken for over a week until Mum had intervened and told Dad he needed to stop sulking and come and have an adult conversation with me or he’d lose his daughter forever.
It had been awkward at first, but we’d got everything off our chests. Eventually, he’d apologised and said as difficult as it would be, he’d try to come to terms with my decision, because all he’d ever wanted was for me to be happy.
I’d worried at first that he was just saying that and would revert back to his old ways once the new term started, but he’d really gone all out to help me. Dad was able to fill my position quicker than anticipated, so I’d just worked until half term, then travelled to Vietnam to join Mike in late October.
It wasn’t easy being apart from Mike during that time. Especially after we’d spent the week before he moved to Vietnam living together. But thankfully we were able to Skype a few times a week and chatted on the phone in between. The English lessons that I’d been giving at Hanh’s salon every weekend were a good distraction, though. What also helped us through was focusing on the bigger picture: what was a couple of months apart compared to the rest of our lives together?
Luckily, I found a job teaching at a school over there before I left London and Mike had already found us a place to live, so I’d worried needlessly.
By that time, my official PEFLITC certification had also come through. I had legitimately achieved a Pass A. Mike explained that even before we’d got together and Petra had caught us in the classroom, he’d spoken to both Graham and the director of training about the fact that we knew each other and arranged for Graham to assess my assignments and teaching practice. He wanted to make sure that I achieved my qualification fair and square.
Petra had apparently come to see Mike the morning after she caught us and said she’d keep our secret, as long as he gave her the same ‘special treatment’ he was giving me. In other words she wanted him to sleep with her. But he’d turned her down point-blank. He wanted me to focus on finishing my assignments, so had planned to tell me once the course was over.
When Petra made that comment on the last day about me only getting my grade because of our relationship, Mike told her that the director of training would be happy to talk to her. Particularly about her decision to blackmail a tutor. She quickly saw sense.
Vietnam was just as wonderful as Mike had promised. I loved everything about it. The school, my learners, the people, the culture, and wow: the food was to die for.
True to her word, Hanh had put me in touch with her daughter, who was amazing. She took us to so many cool places.
We did lots of travelling during the holidays, including to Bali, the destination I’d always wanted to visit with Mike. Which was where he proposed.
In the end, we loved Vietnam so much, we stayed there for two years before moving back to the UK, getting married and finding a place together in North London.
I joined some language training agencies and was booked for jobs teaching business English to overseas professionals, which was what I’d focused on during my last year in Vietnam. I was finally doing my dream career.
A few years later, just after Mike became an English professor, I fell pregnant and we had a beautiful son called Paul, who was now almost two years old. He really was the light of our lives.
Paul was also the apple of Mum and Dad’s eyes. I thought Mum would be the most attached, but Dad was completely head over heels in love with his grandson. Paul had softened him a lot.
Dad and Mike were now just a few metres away from us. Dad was throwing Paul up in the air and catching him, much to Paul’s excitement. His loud squeals of delight could probably be heard at the end of the beach. I didn’t think Dad would ever have done that with me. He would have been too afraid of dropping me.
The counselling definitely helped. During our heart-to-heart, I recommended that Dad speak to someone to address his trauma. He resisted at first until I persuaded him to do a Skype call with Mike, who spoke to him about his experience and how he learned to live with his grief. He didn’t admit it at first, but I know that hearing Mike’s story and how he pushed forward despite his adversity inspired him and led him to eventually seek professional support.
That wasn’t the only way Dad changed. He also booked himself on a fear of flying course. A year later he felt comfortable taking a short flight to Paris with Mum for the weekend. Then a few months after that, they went a little further afield for a summer holiday in Morocco.
Finally, last year, he felt brave enough to take a trip with Mum to St Lucia. She was so happy when he suggested it. He said the flight was nerve-wracking, especially when they experienced some turbulence, but he got through it. He’d faced his fear and I was proud of him.
Now here we were. All five of us, in St Lucia on holiday together. I was finally happy in all aspects of my life. Professionally and romantically. As well as being married to the most amazing husband and having the family I always wanted, I still had a bunch of fantastic friends.
Melody was back on her feet with a little flat in London, working in a school during the week and making jewellery in her spare time, which she sold on Etsy.
Cassie was also doing well. After renting my place for two years with Melody, she’d got her own flat too and was in a relationship.
Sophia’s PR agency was still thriving, and now that she’d broken up with Rich I had a feeling that there would be a lot of exciting things for her to look forward to in her personal life.
The last time I spoke to Faye, she was still in Spain teaching and was loving it.
Yep. Things were looking up all round.
‘Mummy!’ Dad had put Paul down and he ran towards me. I jumped up, opened my arms and gave him a hug.
‘You’re just like your daddy,’ I said as Mike came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. ‘You give great hugs.’
‘So do you.’ Mike squeezed me tighter, then stood beside me. ‘Look at this, Bells.’ He stared at the sunset. ‘Could life get any better?’
I glanced at our son and my husband. My heart was so full it could burst.
‘Nope. This is happiness right here. I have everything I’ve ever dreamt of and so much more.’
Want more?
Fancy reading about Cassie’s romantic adventures? Click here to order book two in the series: My Lucky Nightnow.
You can read all about Sophia’s love story too by ordering The Middle-Aged Virginand the sequel The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy. Click here to start the series.
Enjoy! x